How to brief your recruitment agency

A successful recruitment process can be heavily influenced by the quality of the initial brief. While a job description and salary package provide a baseline, they rarely offer enough detail to aid the sourcing of high-calibre talent in the competitive life sciences sector. Providing a document alone as a starting point is not the best way to begin a working partnership. In contrast, an effective brief can bring the role to life and offer insight into the organisation that recruitment agencies need to find the right candidate.

For pharma and medtech companies, a specialist pharmaceutical and medtech recruitment agency acts as an extension of your brand. To achieve the best results, the briefing process should be a detailed dialogue rather than a simple transfer of information.

Involve the hiring manager

While talent acquisition (TA) teams often lead the initial interaction with an agency, including the hiring manager in the briefing call is always a good idea. Hiring managers possess specific insights that may not be captured in standard HR documentation. They understand the daily reality of the role and can explain exactly what they’re looking for from candidates through the selection process. Speaking directly to the person who will manage the new hire allows the agency to ask technical questions and clarify requirements that TA teams may not have the depth of knowledge to answer.

Define what good looks like

A brief should cover more than skills and experience. Explaining the attitudinal traits that succeed within your specific company culture allows the agency to work beyond the job description. Ask yourself: what will a successful person in this role need to do? What will their day-to-day look like?

Sharing the challenges of the position is equally important. Explain why the role is vacant and what happened to the previous incumbent. Understanding these pain points allows the agency to find candidates with the resilience and specific background to manage those pressures.

Challenge the agency's expertise

Treat your recruitment partner as a subject matter expert rather than a CV provider and use the briefing meeting to challenge the agency on the following:

• Market reality: Are your salary and remuneration package competitive for the current market?
• The candidate pool: Are you looking in the right places? Are your expectations for experience realistic?
• Potential obstacles: What does the agency think the main hurdles will be in attracting talent to this specific role?

An expert agency will be honest and, if a brief is unlikely to succeed, will suggest changes to the candidate profile or package to ensure a result.

Set clear process structures

A brief is incomplete without an agreed structure for the recruitment journey. Be prepared to answer logistical questions during the call, such as:

• The exact steps in the recruitment process.
• Whether interviews are face-to-face, virtual or to be conducted in an assessment centre.
• Timelines for feedback and final offers

Setting expectations around the volume and quality of CVs prevents wasted time. The goal is not to screen dozens of applications, but to receive a small number of CVs that perfectly match the agreed criteria.

Commit to a feedback loop

The relationship should not end when the brief is delivered. Commit to providing prompt feedback on candidates so the agency can refine its search and improve the candidate experience. If the initial CVs are not quite right, a secondary call with the hiring manager can help recalibrate the search.

Partnering with CHASE

At CHASE, we specialise in the life sciences, medtech, and pharmaceutical industries, bringing over 25 years of UK market expertise to every partnership. We operate as a seamless extension of your team, using our deep network to find niche talent that general agencies often miss.

Our track record includes filling 100% of key director roles for our clients and deploying entire outsourced teams in as little as six weeks. Whether you need a specialist nurse, a key account manager, a regional business manager, or a high-calibre graduate from our Graduate Academy, we ensure every candidate is vetted face-to-face for the right fit. Just get in touch to speak to our friendly team.

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